Arvind Kumar

Arvind Kumar is an agricultural scientist and educator whose career of nearly 47 years spans universities and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of science and engineering, from Uttar Pradesh ^[1].

Research and teaching

Kumar was born on 4 July 1952 and earned a PhD in agronomy from Meerut University in 1975 ^[2]. He spent 27 years at the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, writing books and papers, guiding postgraduate students and setting up Krishi Vigyan Kendras, the farm science centres that bring research to farmers ^[2].

As director of ICAR’s Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research in Bharatpur, he built up laboratories and oversaw work that identified 53 mustard and rapeseed varieties for different growing conditions ^[2]. He contributed to four improved varieties, among them India’s first mustard hybrid based on a mori cytoplasmic male sterility system, and as leader of international projects he added 150 kinds of Brassica seed stock to the country’s collection ^[2].

Shaping agricultural education

As ICAR’s deputy director general for agricultural education, he worked on a World Bank-supported higher education project, a scheme to build rural entrepreneurship among students, and the setting up of central agricultural universities ^[2].

He then became the founding vice-chancellor of the Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University in Jhansi, an institution of national importance, and led it for eight years ^[2]. Its campus was designed around energy efficiency, solar power and full rainwater harvesting, and during his tenure it released its first chickpea variety, set up seed hubs for pulses, oilseeds and millets, and added veterinary and fisheries colleges at Datia in Madhya Pradesh ^[2].